Canadian Association of Journalists FINALLY Decides to Protect Free Speech

Canada has been using it’s Human Rights Laws as a plague against the freedoms of speech and press in the country. In most cases, it has been the The Canadian Version of CAIR the Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC), to get the Canadian PC Police to go after the Writers/publishers who try to tell the truth about what is happening in the world. Unfortunately for the Canadian PC Police and their Islamists friends,they didn’t realize that their latest victims, Columnist/Author Mark Steyn, and Publisher/Writer Ezra Levant were adept ad defining themselves and they could rally a storm of bloggers to take up their case. See Fighting for Freedom of the Press in Canada ,Islamofacists Try To Censor Canadian Free Speech or Canada: The Police State Up North.Now FINALLY the, Canadian Association of Journalists has joined the fight to protect the freedom of speech in Canada. Good job guys but what took you so freeking long?

OTTAWA, Feb. 22 /CNW/ - The Canadian Association of Journalists iscalling on federal and provincial governments to amend human rightslegislation to stop a pattern of disturbing attacks on freedom of speech.Two recent cases spotlight the dangers of allowing state-backed agenciesto censor speech based on subjective perceptions of offensiveness - MacLean'smagazine, which is facing complaints in two provinces and nationally for anarticle by syndicated columnist Mark Steyn, and Ezra Levant, the formerpublisher of the Western Standard who is now before the Alberta Human RightsCommission for his decision to publish the Danish cartoons of the Islamicprophet Muhammad."Human rights commissions were never intended to act as a form of thoughtpolice," said CAJ President Mary Agnes Welch. "But now they're being used tochill freedom of expression on matters that are well beyond accepted CriminalCode restrictions on free speech."The CAJ supports Liberal MP Keith Martin's private members motion to havesection 13(1) of federal human rights legislation, the clause dealing withpublished material, repealed. Similar provincial legislation should also beamended as required."The lack of political leadership on this issue, apart from Mr. Martinand a few others, is appalling," said Welch. "Even people who helped createhuman rights commissions have said they were never meant to act as censors.Since a number of commissions have accepted these complaints as worthy ofinvestigation, there clearly needs to be government direction to stop theongoing erosion of one of Canada's most fundamental rights."The CAJ believes that laws of libel and slander, hate speech and otherprovisions found within the Criminal Code provide sufficient restrictions onfreedom of speech. Human rights commissions, which are not bound by the samerules of evidence of the courts, have become last-ditch end-arounds for thosewho want to silence commentary they disagree with."Whether you agree with Steyn or Levant is immaterial. If they'rebreaking no laws, they should have the right, in our democracy, to speakfreely," said Welch.The CAJ will be monitoring the investigations in these two cases andplans to intervene if the process moves to the tribunal stage. The CAJ,however, strongly urges the Canadian human rights commission, as well of thoseof Alberta, B.C. and Ontario, to simply dismiss these complaints completely.

The Canadian Association of Journalists is a professional organizationwith some 1,500 members across Canada. The CAJ's primary role is toprovide-public interest advocacy and high quality professional development forits members.

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